1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of roofing, and more particularly to asphalt composition roofing.
2. Prior Art
The present invention, while useful as a shingle, is primarily intended for use as a hip and ridge cover. As such, the most relevant prior art is the inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,294. That patent discloses an asphalt composition hip and ridge cover which, on installation, will give the asphalt composition roof an outline or silhouette more resembling thick wooden shake. This in turn substantially enhances the overall appearance of an asphalt composition roof at a relatively nominal increased cost. Because of this, the ridge cover of the '294 patent has enjoyed excellent commercial success, sales thereof continually and substantially increasing each year since its introduction.
The ridge cover of the '294 patent is comprised primarily of an elongate ridge cover piece which is folded an even number of times near the center thereof to provide a thickened area in that region. Also, to allow the same to readily bend over a ridge, the upper layers in the folded region are slit along the ridge line to allow the same to spread somewhat upon folding. By installing the covers with the leading edge of one cover effectively being supported on the thickened region of the preceding ridge cover, each ridge cover appears to have a very substantial thickness like thick wood shake, dressing up an asphalt composition roof in a manner not theretofor achieved in the prior art.
As stated before, the ridge cover of the '294 patent has enjoyed excellent commercial success because of the manner in which it finishes off and dresses up an asphalt composition roof. It has certain characteristics however, which are less than ideal. By way of example, with the folded leading edge, a notch must be provided in the same so that the cover will readily fold over the roof ridge. This creates some scrap material which for substantial production volumes creates waste which is not easily disposed of. Further, the covers in accordance with the '294 patent do not stack in a good self supporting manner, very much limiting the height that packaged ridge covers may be stacked unless the packages themselves are self supporting. Accordingly, the cost of the packaging for the ridge covers in accordance with the '294 patent is substantial, as reasonable stacking height capability is required for shipment and storage purposes. Also, in a finished installation, the exposed span of the ridge piece is supported only adjacent the ends of that span, allowing the same to sag somewhat after long time exposure to the hot sun, detracting somewhat from the original appearance of the installed ridge cover over a period of time.